The document summarizes a workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya on emerging issues in multilateral and regional trade agreements. It notes that the World Trade Organization's Doha Round aimed to provide market access and aid industrialization for developing countries. However, the lack of progress in these negotiations has led to a proliferation of new mega free trade agreements between countries and regions that include "WTO-plus" issues beyond traditional trade topics. The workshop aims to build capacity for developing countries to understand and analyze the potential implications and opportunities of these new provisions entering multilateral trade rules and agreements.

1. REMARKS AT THE WORKSHOP ON BOOSTING TRADE
COMPETITIVENESS AROUND EMERGING "NEW ISSUES'’
IN MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL TRADE
AGREEMENTS” HELD AT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL,
NAIROBI 11TH
AND 12TH
MAY 2016
 The Chief Guest, Amb. (Dr.) Amina Mohamed, EGH, CAV, Cabinet
Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
 Amb. Nelson Ndirangu, the Director, Economic and international
Trade Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international
Trade;
 Senior officials from the Trade Affairs Division of the Commonwealth
Secretariat;
 Distinguished delegates,
 Ladies and Gentlemen
1. First, let me register my appreciation to the Commonwealth
Secretariat for sponsoring the workshop and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade for agreeing to partner in hosting the
forum. The significance of the workshop cannot be over-emphasized
in that the fulfillment of multilateral trading rules, will yield
development-oriented global trade.
2. Asenvisaged under the Doha Development Round, these rules were
expected to provide additional market access to LDCs and developing
countries, especially those with limited markets, and enable them to
Page | 1

2. improve their competitiveness in agricultural commodities and aid
them in their industrialization efforts.
3. It is noted that the 9th
WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in
December 2013 negotiated the “Bali Package” which identified issues
such as export competition in agriculture; cotton; Duty Free Quota
Free Access; finding a permanent solution to food security challenges
in developing countries; and reaching binding provisions with respect
to various development issues of interest to LDCs. The Bali Ministerial
Conference also delivered the Trade facilitation agreement (TFA), was
expected to cut trade costs and increase global GDP by almost $ 1
trillion.
4. Following the Bali Ministerial Declaration of December, 2013 and
WTO General Council Decision of November 2014, there have been
intense engagements to decide the elements of the post-Bali agenda
either to get legally binding outcomes or get them prioritized. Some of
these issues came up for negotiation during the 10th
WTO Ministerial
Conference in Nairobi in December, 2015.
5. We hail the ‘Nairobi package’ as historic and successful as it delivered
on commitments with respect to poorest member states, although
others see the declaration as opening the gates for bringing in ‘new
issues’ into the ambit of multilateral negotiations, which have hereby
remained primarily in the realm of plurilateral trade agreements.
Further, only 39 countries have ratified TFA as of January 2016, apart
from 28 EU countries.
Page | 2

3. 6. The lack of deliverables on the part of DDA has led to a rapid
emergence of mega FTAs. These mega trade agreements like Trans
Pacific Trade Agreement (TPP), RCEP, TTIP, EPAs etc. are making fast
headway. These Mega Trade Agreements not only aim at
consolidating trade ties but go much beyond in terms of reshaping
trade rules so as to make them ‘fit for the 21st century’. These
include WTO –plus issues which go beyond what is being negotiated
in WTO and include areas like environment, labour rights, rules on
investments, rules on state-owned enterprises, etc. Given the rising
probability of these ‘new issues’ entering the multilateral arena it
becomes extremely important and urgent for the developing,
including Least Developed Countries to build their capacities with
respect to these issues. In particular, it is important to undertake both
legal as well as economic analyses of possible implications of these
new provisions for different countries.
7. We therefore laud the Commonwealth Secretariat for providing
technical assistance to some of its partner states in order for them to
build their capacities on selected issues. This workshop is therefore for
the purpose of disseminating and sharing its outputs with other
partner states and build research capacity on some of the issues. This is
being done with the Trade Competiveness Section (TCS) in partnership
with the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade,
India and Government and Business ServicesAfrica (GBS Africa)
Limited.
8. GBS Africa Limited in keenly interested in promoting trade and
investment between Africa and the rest of the world. We connect
Africa’s enormous products and business opportunities with global
commodity and financial markets. We strongly believe that given fair
trading and investment practices, Africa and other LDCs are able to
trade their way out of the present poverty and the synthesis of ideas
from this workshop will make this happen.
Page | 3

4. I thank you.
Agnes Gitau
Agnes @gbsafrica.co.uk
Page | 4